India’s Praveen Kumar on Friday won a silver medal in the men’s high jump T64 event at the Tokyo Paralympics. This is India’s 11th medal overall at the Tokyo Games.
With this, this is the fourth medal for India in the high jump at the Tokyo Paralympics. Before Praveen, Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu and Sharad Kumar have won medals in the high jump event.
Let’s take a look at the full news.
Praveen won silver with an effort of 2.07m
18-year-old Praveen finished second with a best effort of 2.07m. With this, it has also become a new Asian record. The gold in the event went to Britain’s Jonathan Broome-Edwards, who achieved success in an effort of 2.10m. Poland’s Maciej Lepiato won the bronze medal with a time of 2.04m.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated on winning the medal
On winning the medal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Praveen on his achievement.
The Prime Minister tweeted, “Proud of Praveen Kumar for winning the Silver medal at the Paralympics. This medal is the result of his hard work and unparalleled dedication. Congratulations to him. Best wishes for his future endeavours,”
This is India’s best-ever performance in Paralympic Games. India has reached double figures in the medal tally for the first time.
So far, these Indian players have won medals
#IND has 11 medals now🔥 #Paralympics
Adding to the list is👇
🥈Praveen | #Athletics https://t.co/Z9agjtTDaJ— Doordarshan Sports (@ddsportschannel) September 3, 2021
Praveen won gold in Para Athletics this year
Praveen is the world number three player in his category. He won the gold medal setting an Asian record at the World Para Athletics FAZZA Grand Prix 2021, Dubai. One leg of Praveen was short from birth. He started participating in sports with his school friends, and volleyball was initially his favourite sport. Later he became interested in the high jump. He trains under the supervision of Dr Satyapal Singh.
The paralympic quota was achieved from World Para Athletics Championships
Praveen had missed out on a bronze medal at the 2019 Junior World Para Athletics Championships by finishing fourth. However, his fourth-place finish was enough for him to qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics.